2013 All-Area Baseball Player of the Year: Sean Bradyof Ida Baker

May 26, 2013

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Ida Baker's Sean Brady is the 2013 Player of the Year. / Jack Hardman/news-press.com

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Fresh off the most disappointing varsity baseball season of his high school career, Ida Baker pitcher Sean Brady learned to do more with less.

The results: a 7-1 record, 0.68 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings pitched for the District 6A-13 runner-up Bulldogs. The performance also earned the senior The News-Press All-Area Baseball Player of the Year award.

“I really just focused on locating, not trying to throw the ball by everyone,” said the 6-foot left-hander. “My junior year, the problem was I thought I was a harder thrower than I am. This year I learned to throw the ball where I wanted for strikes and that really helped me.”

The improved location on his fastball, which Brady said sits consistently in the 90 mile per hour range, and his curveball led to a dominant season. The University of Florida commit was named the Florida Athletic Coaches Association District 18 Most Valuable Player and was selected to participate in the FACA All-Star game.

Brady, who committed to the Gators as a sophomore, said he plans on making a contribution his first season in Gainesville.

“I’m not going to be overconfident but I’m going to work my butt off and prove to them I’m ready to come in and start,” he said. “I can;t wait to get up there and get going.”

Coach of the Year

Coach of the Year

Frank Turco, Estero: In his 13th season with the Wildcats, Turco steered his team to a surprising berth in the FHSAA Class 5A state baseball finals, the first such appearance in the program’s history. Estero finished with a 21-10 record.

First team

Forrest Hunter

» School: South Fort Myers

» Class: Senior

» Position: Catcher

» Hunter batted .429 for the Wolfpack with a team-leading .688 slugging percentage. He had 10 doubles, two triples, two home runs and 20 RBI.

Brian Boocock

» School: Estero

» Class: Senior

» Position: First base

» Boocock batted .282 with two doubles and seven RBI. On the mound, the 6-foot-7 right-hander went 6-2 with a 0.46 ERA and 1.05 WHIP, striking out 44 batters in 45 2/3 innings pitched. A South Carolina Upstate commit, he pitched a complete-game two-hitter to propel the Wildcats into the Class 5A state championship game.

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Cole Ondrejka

» School: Island Coast

» Class: Senior

» Position: Second base

» Ondrejka batted .401 with a team-best 24 RBI and 13 stolen bases for the Gators. He also played stellar defense, finishing with a .979 fielding percentage.

Kameron Gellinger

» School: Island Coast

» Class: Senior

» Position: Shortstop

» Gellinger led the Gators with in batting average (.421), walks (16), on-base percentage (.531) and runs scored (33).

Austin Garcia

» School: LaBelle

» Class: Senior

» Position: Third base

» A four-year starter for the Cowboys, Garcia batted .386 with eight home runs, 26 RBI and 18 walks, including 10 intentional passes. Garcia was also named the FACA District 18 Class 4A Player of the Year.

Evan Dougherty

» School: Bishop Verot

» Class: Junior

» Position: Outfield

» Dougherty led the Vikings in runs scored (29) and triples (six). He also batted .333 with two home runs and 24 RBI and had a .978 fielding percentage, committing just one error.

Corey Gibson

» School: Cypress Lake

» Class: Senior

» Position: Outfield

» Gibson batted .326 with 10 doubles, 26 runs scored, 21 RBI and 15 stolen bases for the Panthers. Gibson has signed a letter-of-intent to play at Lynn University.

Ryan Rivera

Richie Lacell

» School: Cypress Lake

» Class: Senior

» Position: Pitcher

» Lacell finished 8-0 with a 1.24 ERA, allowing 44 hits and 13 walks in 69 innings pitched, while striking out 85. He also hit .379 with 27 RBI. Lacell was also named the FACA District 18 Class 5A Player of the Year and signed a letter-of-intent with South Carolina Upstate.

Jeff Passantino

» School: Bishop Verot

» Class: Junior

» Position: Pitcher

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» The right-hander finished 11-2 with a 0.99 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP for the Class 4A state semifinalist Vikings. He struck out 112 batters in 77.1 innings pitched. At the plate, Passantino led Bishop Verot in average (.370), doubles (7), home runs (3) and RBI (29).

Zeke Pietrzyk

» School: Estero

» Class: Junior

» Position: Pitcher

» Pietrzyk went 7-3 with a 1.28 ERA and 0.98 WHIP for the Wildcats. He struck out 52 batters in 60 innings, allowing just 41 hits. A FGCU verbal commit, Pietrzyk also batted .349 with 12 doubles, two home runs and 24 RBI for Estero.

Ryan Keegan

» School: Estero

» Class: Junior

» Position: Utility

» The shortstop led the Wildcats in batting average (.400), doubles (14), triples (2), home runs (3), runs scored (37) and RBI (29). He also went 2-0 on the mound with a save for Class 5A state runner-up Estero.